Teachers
Hassan Youssef
Hassan Youssef was born in Cairo in 1963 into a very musical and talented family. His father, uncle and two sisters all played instruments professionally.
Hassan played Egyptian tabla in a professional capacity from the age of 6 and has since become proficient in a range of instruments including doof, req, muzhar, dhola and sagat.
Hassan spent most of his life in Egypt with the Egytian Tanoura el Dervish as tabla player and later maestro. He travelled extensively with the Tanoura Troupe and also as a specialist academy teacher in his own right.
Hassan has lived in Australia since 2004 in Perth WA.
He has continued to teach tabla, doof, sagat and other instruments, he has formed a Dervish Troupe of local women and has played with and tutored many artists in Egyptian rhythms, music and dance.
Hassan and his troupe perform and conduct workshops in tabla, doof and sagat as well as folkloric dances such as Tahkteeb, ghawazi, and hagalla. We also train Oriental Dancers in the specialised art of bellydance to tabla technique
Phil Carroll - http://www.myspace.com/alwanband
Phil has been playing middle-eastern music for nearly 20 years. He has studied ney, duduk (mey), quartertone accordion and zurna (mizmar) in Turkey and Egypt .
He has played with La Kasbah (Moroccan)and Ta'esh Fa'esh and the sufi group Sanctuary ensemble http://www.myspace.com/sanctuaryensemble He has lead the band Yalla! for 10 years playing at festivals in every Australian state with one CD. He now plays in Alwan (ex-Camoon) http://www.myspace.com/alwanband
His passion for the Eastern sound deepened during his travels in '98 to the Middle-East with The Breezes Of Anatolia Turkish ensemble and subsequent studies in Egypt , Turkey and Morocco where he studied Oriental music. He lived in Turkey in 2007 and 2008 where he worked as a musician in Istanbul sufi ceremonies, cafes, bars and functions.
Matt Stonehouse - www.fingersoffury.com
Melbourne based percussionist Matt Stonehouse has been a musician for twenty years. His unique style of playing has seen him perform with a highly eclectic range of artists in Australia and Internationally.
Matt has studied with master musicians in Turkey and Iran and whilst based in Isfahan, Iran, he was under the instruction of Feridoun Farahani and Sara Fatros, both acclaimed musicians of that province.
In Australia Matt has performed with Gypsy groups, Black Train, Babaganoush and Zarafa; and with Middle Eastern ensembles, Yalla, Fingers of Fury and the Underbelly dance Troupe. He also performs Central Asian, Turkish and Italian music with Melbourne Virtuoso John Norton. Matt has played at the Edinburgh Festival, Womadelaide, Port Fairy and Queenscliff Music festivals and he has become a favourite accompanist to many of Australia 's leading belly dancers. Recent recordings include the latest recording of Pin Rada that features master musicians from both Istanbul and Melbourne.
Matt is also the Author of the book 'Fingers of Fury,' percussion of the Arabic world and beyond. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JffZFRM3X6M
http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=D-W0NRTo6ZA
Trisnasari - www.underbellydance.com
Trisnasari has danced all her life and instructed beginners to professionals in Middle Eastern dance for over a decade. With a background in psychology, corporate consulting and a Certificate IV in Dance Teaching she is sought after as an excellent facilitator with a strong basis in safe dance practice and dance teaching methods. She is the founder Underbelly Dance Studio in Melbourne and although she no longer directs the business, she continues to choreograph and dance with the Underbelly troupe.
Trisnasari has choreographed, directed and performed with dance troupes at numerous festivals including The Port Fairy Folk Festival and Queenscliff Music Festival. She has performed and delivered workshops throughout Australia and abroad.
Nawres Alfreh
Nawres Alfreh has been playing classical and Arabic violin, joze and kamanche for 15 years. His classical training in music began at the Baghdad Conservatorium and he completed his degree at the Jordan Conservatorium. After his studies he performed in numerous ethnomusicology projects in Sweden, Cyprus, the UK and Jordan. He is currently a violinist in the Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra and also plays violin, joze and kamanche in local world music ensembles.
Karen Wray – www.coffscoastdrums.org.au
Karen has been part of the Sydney Middle Eastern dance scene for over 20 years . She was among the pioneering female Arabic percussionists that performed and taught in Australia , and has performed with great darabuka players such as Anne Harkin Ghassan Barakat, Jamal Zraika and Hossam Ramzy. Karen now lives on the Coffs Coast and is teaching and performing in the area and beyond.
Karen Says:“My style & forte is the Lebanese & Egyptian drum solo and how it works for the dancer. Also I focus on the fine finger technique that makes the darabouka work amazingly for us. As a non Arabic female, I had to learn this instrument the hard & fun way back in the early nineties, and this has given me the ability to teach and break down the rhythm & technique in my own unique way.
It is an honour to return as a teacher to Bahar Bayram 2010 and I look forward to passing on my years of knowledge & passion in this wonderful creative environment.
Tamara Taylor - www.hipnoticbellydance.com
Tamara is a graceful and passionate dancer with over 20 years experience in Middle Eastern dance. Throughout her dance career, Tamara has worked with musicians, performing at festivals, concerts and functions around Australia . Tamara has gained a reputation for her understanding and interpretation of music and her skills as a performer and teacher.Tamara's experience includes teaching workshops at major and community festivals, such as Woodford Folk Festival where she has been a popular teacher and performer since 1995. In 2001, Tamara had the honour of teaching workshops with renowned musician Omar Faruk Tekbilek, alongside Terezka Drnzik.
Yuval Ashkar – www.ashkarmusicanddance.com
Born
into an accomplished musical family in Israel, Yuval’s
passion for the Oud began at age 17. Yuval began his tuition with famous Israeli
Oud player Yair Dalaland and furthered his studies by learning Arabic styling
from Arabian Oud master Gussan Harb. An inspiration for audiences, bellydancers
and other musicians, Yuval has evolved his unique style of Oud playing through
the synthesis of Egyptian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Armenian, Turkish, Kurdish, Afghani
and Andalusian musical influences and techniques.
Multi-instrumental Yuval also plays the Bandir (Turkish Sufi drum), Tombak (Persian
wooden drum), Darabuka, Zurna, Cumbus (Turkish banjo), Indian whistle and assorted
flutes. His vocal accompaniments are in Arabic, Ladino (Jewish-Spanish dialect),
Hebrew and Kurdish.
Anisa and Sabah
Anisa has been playing Arabic instruments, including tabla, req, doof, sagat and muzahr for six years. She performs and teaches Egyptian folkloric dance such as Dervish, raqs sufi, hagalla and tahkteeb.
Anisa has performed at many festivals and concerts in Australia and overseas and has cultural journey to Egypt where she studied with renowned master of folkloric dance - Dr Samer Gaber Beshai and the Egyptian Dervish Troupe.
Sabah has been in Hassan Youssef Dervish
and Folkloric Troupe for six years. She plays
Egyptian Tabla and doof and dances raqs sufi.
Amir Naderi - www.dastanarts.com
Amir was born in Shiraz, Iran. Surrounded by dervishes and Sufi culture in his home town, he was drawn towards the mystery of Sufism and the musical expression of spirituality and devotion. Now living in the Sunshine Coast area, Amir performs at festivals and concerts with his Sufi music group "Dastan" and also with the Persian band "Pejvac." Amir specialises in "Def" (frame drum), Tombak and singing and his performances are inspiring and uplifting.
Gary Dawson
Gary Dawson has been teaching folk dance for over 30 years, specialising in Balkan and Hungarian dance styles, and occasionally throwing in a Mexican, Austrian, English or Danish dance for fun as well. Gary has taught and choreographed for Macedonian, Serbian, Greek, Turkish and Hungarian community groups, international folk dance groups, amateur and professional dance ensembles and dance camps and festivals in Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Hungary and Serbia. Gary's dance workshops and dances are energetic, educational, fun and a social event. You'll come away from his workshops smiling and sweaty as his teaching style captures the atmosphere of a village ‘sred selo' (Serbian, colloquially translated as dance in the middle of the village). With a rich source of knowledge and experience, Gary passes on information and anecdotes about the people, places and traditions he's visited and learned from and about.
Yorgo Kaporis
Yorgo Kaporis has danced professionally in Bulgaria with the famed Pirin Ensemble for 4 years, and choreographs dances to provide a visual and auditory explosion of colour and shapes which tantalizes the senses and leaves the audience begging for more. Yorgo has won various awards in Australia for his original choreographies, and his dance troupe “Dusha Balkana” has had the pleasure of not only performing for various communities within Sydney, but is invited annually to attend the Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland.
Dusha Balkana currently enjoys repertoires and original choreographed sequences from Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Greece, and is looking to expand its repertoire to other neighbouring Balkan Countries.
For further information you can contact Yorgo on 0412 86 11 87 or YorLoch@bigpond.com.
Andrea Makris
The co-director of Underbelly Dance since 2001, Andrea Makris is a Melbourne-based dancer specialising in Middle Eastern, Turkish and Gulf Region styles. Andrea’s parents were Greek migrants to Sydney who ensured that Mediterranean music and dance were a part of her everyday life. Since moving to Melbourne in 1999, Andrea has studied, performed and taught dance, while establishing and growing one of Australia’s premier Belly dance institutions. Andrea has been refining her repertoire in Turkish dance over the past few years and finds that its style, music and attitude resonates strongly with her own heritage and aesthetic. She has performed with Turkish fusion band 'Unified Gecko' on many occasions, including a performance for the Adelaide International Festival of the Arts and a performance in Turkey itself in 2005. Andrea has studied in Australia, Egypt, Canada and the USA, regularly collaborates with a diverse and vast range of music acts and is often a special guest workshop facilitator for festivals and events.
Amber Hansen
Amber is a professional Arabic dance artist specialising in styles from the Arab Near East including Raqs Sharqi, Raqs Baladi and Dabke. She has been involved in music and dance since 1984 and with Middle Eastern dance since 1996. Drawing inspiration from her Lebanese ancestry she is also a musician, composer and sound artist who has produced cross cultural compositions and performances in Australia and the UK since 1997. While living in London for a few years she gained experience performing with professional Arab / Middle Eastern musicians and dance groups including 'Al Zaytouna', currently the most innovative Palestinian Dabke group in Europe as well as training and performing with principal dancers from Palestine's popular dance troupe 'El Funoun' based near Ramallah in the West Bank. As well as gaining training from master teachers based in Australia, Europe and the Middle East, Amber is predominantly a self taught Arabic dancer and composer and constantly strives to encapsulate the true essence of the Arab Near Eastern culture through traditional and cross cultural contemporary performances.
Ann Bermingham
Ann is a Brisbane musician who leads 2 Community Choirs, performs with Bulgarian music trio Zhiva Voda, and has worked on community music projects within Festivals, and for organizations and events. Primarily a singer, Ann also writes songs, plays clarinet with the Upatree Puppets street band, and has performed in, and been Musical Director for several theatre projects.
Ann ‘s longstanding interest in Balkan music was fuelled by performers such as Linsey Pollak, Mara Kiek and Blindman’s Holiday., and ignited after hearing Bulgarian singer Maria Leshkova, in Melbourne in the mid 90s. Ann formed the acappella group, Bella Balkana with Annie Peterson and Jennifer Alford, and subsequently spent several weeks on a musical study tour to Bulgaria in 1999.
Zhiva Voda - which features Reni Pavlova-Bojilov, a former member of Bulgaria’s renowned Philip Koutev Choir, and multi-instrumentalist George Gaydov - has been performing at Festivals, concerts and other events around Southeast Queensland and nationally since 2001.
Belladonna
Belladonna is a charismatic belly dancer with over 15 years of performance and teaching. She has trained with Master Teachers throughout the world. And recently studied various styles of Indian Temple Dance throughout India. Based in Northern NSW, her troupe Snakeweave has performed in many festivals and are well known for their tribal fusion and colourful gypsy grooves. Her workshops offer a new dimensions to add to your own abilities with indian temple dance and poi/fire dance skills.
Bilge Özgün
Bilge Özgün, vocalist, was born in Istanbul and has been living and performing in Brisbane for the last three years. She has performed at Woodford Folk Festival and The Medieval Fair. Her beautiful renditions of Turkish sanat and halk songs enliven a number of local ensembles including popular Turkish folk groups, Yaren and Tulip Garden. (and she is currently singing every tuesday night with Tulip Garden at Ahmet's in Southbank).
Madonna Teitzel
Madonna Teitzel is the director of DrumDance Bellydance, a FatChanceBellyDance Sister Studio & has performed & taught the art of bellydance for over fifteen years. She takes the time to create an encouraging, warm learning environment & has enormous pride in watching her students flourish under her care & instruction.
In addition to being a certified American Tribal Style (ATS) Bellydance teacher, Madonna is also a Pilates instructor & a dedicated yoga student, bringing an extra mind-body connection to her teaching format.
Madonna performs regularly with her troupe, DrumDance which includes a Middle Eastern percussion ensemble led by her partner, Peter Van Vuuren. The dance & music troupe has travelled extensively, entertaining & delighting Australian audiences with their lively, original style.
DrumDance performs original choreography, music compositions & ATS repertoire & is based in Toowoomba, Queensland www.drumdance.com.au
Peter Van Vuuren
Peter has been a musician for 30 years and started playing Middle Eastern and African percussion when his partner started bellydancing, about 15 years ago. Mostly self taught but over the years has had lessons with Hossam Ramzy, Jamahl Zraika, Fuat Sazimanoski, Epizo Bangoura & Sam Okoth and others. He has taught Middle Eastern & West African rhythms & general percussion skills for about 10 years and performs regularly with the bellydance & music troupe DrumDance. www.drumdance.com.au
Bill Andersen
Bill was born in Scotland but came to Australia in 1971.He has been playing music for about 25 years, originally playing Irish style flute, but then branching out into Balkan, Turkish and Arabic music. He has performed at Folk Festivals around the country including, The National Folk Festival in Canberra , Port Fairy Folk Festival in Victoria and Woodford Folk Festival in Queensland .
About 8-9 years ago he had the opportunity to hear a Mevlevi (Whirling Dervish) group play in Melbourne . He was so taken with the music that since then he has been learning to play classical Turkish music. While living in Melbourne he played ney (Turkish end blown flute) in a Classical Turkish orchestra for 2-3 years. Since moving to Brisbane a few years ago, Bill has been running weekly sessions teaching Turkish, Arabic and Balkan tunes. He is also playing Oud, Ney and Zurna in several bands.
Cory Dale
Cory Dale is a truly remarkable musician, a real bagpipe specialist who has mastered the playing of many types of bagpipes from all over the world. In only a short period of time playing Gaida, Cory has already become renowned around Australia as a gifted player. Cory's interest in the Macedonian Gaida was sparked by Linsey Pollack's music in early 2004, and from there he became interested in the “Rodopi Gaida” of Bulgaria . In 2006 and 2007, Cory traveled to Bulgaria to participate in several Gaida competitions and festivals.
A Brisbane resident, Cory makes Macedonian, Thracian and Rodopi gaida – and a few other instruments too!
Matt De Boer
Since a reed was thrust in his mouth at the tender age of 10, Matt’s fascination with blowing things has only deepened. He might be recognisable to camp regulars as the reluctant MC, but in actual fact he has been know to perform tooth-smashing stage dives at gigs. Nonetheless, Matt can be found equally at home playing with Persian sufis or Macedonian gypsies on his beloved grnata (clarinet). He has travelled through Eastern Europe and Turkey on musical odysseys, and played with international touring musicians and brings a passion for musical arrangement and performance to the groups he works with. Matt has taught music in schools and workshops in remote Aboriginal communities. He and his partner Malindi Morris are the brains behind camp favourites the Transbalkan Express and they both hope to one day play in a group with fewer than 15 musicians. But really Matt just can’t help bringing people together to play gypsy music...
Malindi Morris
Malindi Morris is a Brisbane based percussionist who specialises in Tapan, Darbuka and Daf. Working with a number of different music groups such as Dastan, The Transbalkan Express, and the Hikayat Ensemble, she has performed at folk and multicultural festivals such as the Woodford Folk Festival, Scheherazade Festival, and the Queensland Multicultural Festival.
Bob “2 Toots” Robinson
Bob comes with 37 years performance experience with the Didgeridoo and 8 years with Middle Eastern percussion (Darabouka and Riq). In recent years he has played Didgeridoo for the Woodford Folk Festival Fire Event, including the Dawn Cermony and performances with other groups at the Festival. He has also played at a number of Festivals including Queensland Multicultural Festival. His career includes playing with Rolf Harris at Expo 1970 and on stage with Australian orchestras. His involvement with Middle Eastern music groups has given him an excellent grounding for fusing Didgeridoo with Middle Eastern rhythms and instruments.
Oriel Paters
on - www.hennaharem.com
Oriel has been performing henna since 1999, after a journey to Morocco. As a professional henna artist, she specialises in traditional application and design, using a natural hand-mixed paste, and works free-hand. With vivid childhood years in the Middle East, and qualifications in Art History & Anthropology, a natural intrigue with the rich her-story of henna, and its contemporary symbolic use, infuses Oriel’s life. Through “Henna Harem”, she offers the ritual of henna at ceremonies, parties, openings, conferences and festivals.